books shelves: my inheritance ??

There is a bit of a rumble in my stomach as I sit here tonight to write what I'm about to write. I should go fill it with something, esp so all of you think that I DO eat enough b/c I do! I love to eat but I also enjoy exercising. I ran tonight and the air was so damp, so humid that when I walked in the doors of the house, water was literally running down my arms and dripping off of my face.

To Deborah, miss, I'm sad that you don't appreciate my most recent blogs. I'm a sporadic blogger and a coffee snob (I've had such bland coffee these past few days.). Miss, maybe you will enjoy this one.

I am up in MO with my mom and we are visiting her parents and my only set of living grandparents. There is purpose in this trip, but that is not what I want to write about.

Tonight, we were just sitting around after eating (and running for me) and talking. This side of my family loooooves to just sit around and talk, and that is great and all, but something within me doesn't seem to have things to contribute to conversations about visiting the doctor or how it's impossible to keep up three different homes (this is what my grandparents are struggling to make happen.)

In the mix of conversations about everything medical and everything non-medical, my grandfather, more affectionately known as Papa or Pop, decided to open the bank of stories about my great granddad, whom I never had the privilege of knowing. I could go on and on recounting the stories that he shared with me, but I won't. There was just one simple thing that continues to amaze me about my Papa.

My Papa loves life! He truly does. His joy is evident and what is more evident is that his joy comes from something that is not of this world. My Papa has created, lived and left a great legacy of faith for me. As I am in the upstairs room of their farm house, perched on one of two beds in this room that probably hasn't seen life in months, I am starting directly into a bookshelf that makes it's home between two windows and takes up half of the wall. It's full of all kinds of books, a wide variety. I have yet to ask, but I would really like to be found in this will to inherit these books. I love books, and I love to read, so how perfect would these books be. Let me list some of the titles and authors, just so you can get a feel for the treasure that I am sharing a room with tonight:

The Joyful Christian by C.S. Lewis

The Best Loved Poems of the American People

The American Presidents by Whitney

How to Win Friends and Influence People by. Dale Carnegie

Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy by J Barton Payne

Knowing God by. J.L. Packer

The Bible Code by. Michael Drosnin

The Western Bible Commentary

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Poetry of Robert Frost

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

The Holy Bible

Wow, I could go on and on. I have made my way to the feet of this mighty bookshelf as I gaze up to read the titles. I am mentally in awe of this. I could discover something new each time I'm here. I usually do.

Back to this idea of a legacy that my Papa has created. How could a man with this much knowledge, wisdom and experience in life NOT leave a legacy. I began building my personal library several years ago. I hope to add some of these books to it and leave such a legacy that my Papa is leaving. Don't get me wrong, just because you have awesome books on your bookshelf does not guarantee a legacy will be left, but it certainly can't hurt and by all means, it probably does contribute to the person and man of the Lord that he has become.

Thanks Pop!